Independent Contractor Claims of Misclassification in the Shared Economy Transportation Industry

In 2016, Edgeworth Economics Partner Dr. Nathan Woods was retained on behalf of a shared economy transportation company to analyze driver and route data in response to misclassification allegations made by independent contractors. The plaintiffs alleged in federal court that the defendant misclassified the drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, in order to deny them wages and breaks.

Over the course of the next several years, Dr. Woods and his team provided the client with ongoing analyses of driver and route data specific to several states, including California. In his analyses, Dr. Woods studied the client’s driver and route data and developed economic models to assess employer-employee and independent contractor (business-to-business) relationships.

Dr. Woods’s analysis has helped the client to reach multiple favorable settlements thus far. The Edgeworth team is continuing ongoing work and analysis on new rounds of data for additional matters throughout the US.